


What Can I Do For You

by texastough



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, M/M, Modern AU, Multi, cad is a nurse, fjord is a vet, in both ways
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2020-10-04 23:03:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20478923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/texastough/pseuds/texastough
Summary: Caduceus gets transferred to a new hospital and meets Jester Lavorre, and all her crazy friends.





	1. Transfer

Caduceus Clay takes a deep breath and exhales through his nostrils as he walks into the Krynn Central Hospital. 

He walks up to the receptionist, a shorter man with glasses, who smiles at him. 

“Hello, can I help you?”

“Yes, hello, my name is Caduceus, I’m the new nurse.”

“Oh, nice to meet you, Caduceus, I’m Yeza, let me get you all checked in.”

With his ID card in hand and a clipboard, Cad is ushered to see a short girl with a rounder figure and bouncy, black hair with the ends dyed blue.

He’s relieved to see another person with dyed hair, as his is a light shade of pink. 

She turns around.

“Oh my God, you’re tall!”

She giggles.

“Sorry! You’re…” she scans her clipboard for the name, “Clay, right?”

“Caduceus, actually. Clay is easier for most.” 

“Caduceus. That’s a very interesting name. Well, I’m Jester. I’ll be working with you a lot. Have you met anyone else?”

“Just the receptionist… Yeza?”

“Oh, isn’t he the nicest? He actually oversees the pharmacy, but we’re a little understaffed right now. You’re like a birthday present.”

“Glad I can help out.” 

Cad clocks out and sees Jester walking towards him.

“Hey! Caduceus!”

“Oh, hello, Jester.”

“Hey, do you want to get dinner?”

“Oh, um… l-like a date?”

“No, silly! Just dinner. Unless you _want_ it to be a date,” she jokes, raising her eyebrows. 

Cad smiles.

“Sure, Jester, I’d like to get dinner. But, um, do you know any places to get good tea around here?”

“I know a great place!”

Jester practically drags Caduceus to a coffee shop a few blocks away. It looks fairly empty inside.

“Hello, Yasha!”

A pale woman with black hair waves at Jester.

“Hello, Jester. Oh, who’s this?”

“This is Caduceus. He’s the new nurse at the hospital and we’re like, best friends now.”

Cad laughs a bit.

“Well, hello, Caduceus, I’m Yasha.” 

“Nice to meet you.”

“Wow, you two talk like, really slow and calm.”

Yasha looks at both of them.

“Can I get you something?”

“Yes! I want a vanilla latte and…?”

“Oh, do you have any floral tea?”

Yasha smiles.

“Oh, yes. We have a lovely jasmine tea, a rose petal, hibiscus… I believe we have a marigold tea, but we might be out.”

“I’ll take the jasmine.”

A few nights later they sit at the same table in the coffee shop and a gruff woman walks in.

She’s very tan and looks like she’s been sweating.

She sits next to Jester.

“Beau!” 

“I’m losing my goddamn mind, Jes.”

“Caduceus, this is my friend, Beau.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Beau, you know Yasha is working tonight, right?” 

“_Shit, fuck_, she is? Okay, don’t let her see me, I look like a wet dog.”

“Hello, Beau!” 

“_Shit_. Hey, Yasha!” 

Beau leans into their table.

“Jes, if you see Fjord, tell him he owes me one.” 

She gets up to talk to Yasha and Cad looks to Jester.

“She’s a very strange person.”

“Beau teaches Brazilian jiu jitsu. She comes in here sweaty and yelling a lot.” 

Jester starts to talk and Caduceus notices a man with black hair and a white streak walk in.

And good Lord, he’s handsome. 


	2. Octopi, Octopuses, Octo-whatever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fjord’s apprenticeship has him working to the bone, and Yasha’s coffee shop is a safe haven

Fjord sighs as he types away at his laptop.

He mumbles to himself as he does.

“And the funny- _no_. And the interesting- no, _fucking hell_. The fascinating… _okay_…” 

Jester sits down across from him.

“Hello, Fjord!” 

“Hey, Jester. Sorry I didn’t say hi last night. Were you, erm… on a date?”

“No, that’s my coworker. His name’s Caduceus.” 

“Nice.”

“How are the octopuses?”

“_Octopi_. And this will be the death of me, I swear.” 

“Well, you’re going to like it, I know.” 

“I do like it, I just never have time off.” 

“How much coffee do you drink a day, Fjord?” 

“Maybe like… three of these? Or four?”

“Three? Fjord!”

“I need the energy, Jester!”

“Oh, Beau says you owe her one. Whatever that means.”

Fjord groans.

“Yeah, don’t worry, I know what that means.” 

“How’s Sabien?”

Fjord flinches a little at her name.

“Um, I… uh… I’d like it if we didn’t talk about him, please.”

“Oh, sorry.” 

“I can tell you later, maybe.”

He plays with one of his earrings and avoid’s Jester’s eyes.

“Sorry…” 

“You don’t have to be sorry, Fjord.” 

Jester and Caduceus sit in the cafe again as Beau and that same handsome man come in, talking about something.

Beau spots Jester and turns towards her.

“Jester.”

“Yes, Beau?”

“Is ‘octopussy’ the plural form of octopus?”

The handsome man makes two thumbs up motions behind Beau’s head. 

“Yes, Beau.”

“Caduceus?”

“Yes.” 

“Okay… I thought Fjord was fucking with me.” 

Beau sits down and Fjord stands there awkwardly. 

“Come sit down, Fjord.”

“Uh, alright.”

He sits down.

“I’m Caduceus. I work with Jester.”

“Fjord.”

They shake hands.

“Was there context for the octopus question?”

“Fjord works with a lot of animals.”

“I work at the aquarium. I’m doing an apprenticeship there.”

“Saying you’re a Marine vet working to be a marine vet is pretty fun,” Beau says. 

“You’ve got a foam mustache.”

“Shit.”

Beau wipes her mouth off. 

“So… you were in the Marines and now you want to be a veterinarian?” 

“Bingo.” 

“Were you an American Marine?”

“Yeah.” 

“I’ve been working with Jester long enough to know that accent doesn’t dictate origin.” 

“You two wanna come over to dinner tomorrow night? My wife’s cooking is to die for.” 

“Oh, I’d love to. Jester?”

“Oh yes! Nott and I can tell Caduceus about our podcast!”

“You’re making a podcast?”

“Yes! It’s true crime!”

“They’re very funny ladies, Jester and Veth.”

“I’m sorry, what is her name?”

“Her name is Veth, but I call Nott. It’s a nickname for her last name.” 

“Brenatto… ah, I see.”

Caduceus sits in his apartment and yawns.

He’s still thinking about meeting Fjord today, odd enough. 

Perhaps next time he’ll ask for his number.

He’ll have to ask Jester how they all became friends. 

They’re such an odd bunch. 

He really likes them all. 


	3. Dinner Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caduceus has a chat with Nott. Fjord thinks.

The dinner party at the Brenatto house was a good time.

Cad met Nott and Yeza’s son, Luc. He was very sweet. 

Fjord was there.

So were Beau and Yasha, Jester, and Nott’s friend Caleb.

Caleb seemed very nice. He’s quiet. He said he was a librarian. 

Caleb’s partner, Mollymauk, was there too. He was very interesting. He said he was an actor. He was riddled with tattoos, even more than Fjord. 

Cad picked up on the following things.

Nott seems to be the mom friend of this group. 

Beau and Yasha have some very odd tension. 

They seemed to be flirting, he supposed. It wasn’t any flirting like he’d ever seen. 

Fjord uses hearing aids. 

He assumes this is because of an accident when he was in the Marines. 

This group is very strangely close to each other.

Hugs and hand squeezes were often. They talked as though they were a family. 

He and Jester are the only ones able to stay for dessert.

They all give Nott kisses and hugs goodbye.

”Want coffee, you two?”

”Yes! With cream and sugar!”

”No thanks, I’m more of a tea person.”

Nott smiles at the two of them, then looks at Cad and raises an eyebrow.

“So, Caduceus, what do you think of our little family?” 

“Oh, you’re all very sweet. Thank you for inviting me.” 

“Of course. You’re always welcome to come over, I’m usually home.” 

Nott scoots her chair closer.

“Do you have a special someone, Mr. Clay?”

“Oh, well, no…”

“Got your eyes on anyone?”

“Not particularly-“

“He keeps staring at Fjord,” Jester blurts out. “Sorry.” 

“No, it’s fine. He’s very handsome,” Cad says. 

Nott smirks. 

“Is he your type?”

“I guess, yeah. He’s um… burly.”

“Don’t be fooled, he isn’t strong.”

“Nott, don’t be mean.”

“He’s not! 

“I’ve only dated a few guys before.”

“Well, Fjord just got out of a relationship.”

Nott looks to jester. 

“Really?”

Jester nods.

“Good for him! That guy was an asshole.” 

“Nott, he’s still kind of sensitive about it.” 

“Well, in any case, maybe hold off, Caduceus.” 

Fjord stands in the kitchen of his and Beau’s apartment.

“Hey, buddy.”

“Oh, uh, hey Beau.”

“You okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“You want some like… tea or something?”

“I’m fine, thanks.” 

“Okay. You should get to bed soon.”

“I will.”

“Alright. Night, dude.”

“G’night.”

He walks to his room and looks at the window.

_Sabien, why’d you have to do that? Why’d you have to play with me like that? Fucking prick. Fucking goddamn prick always playing with my fucking emotions. _

He sighs.

He should get some rest.

Fjord lays in bed.

He thinks of Caduceus.

He smiles. 


	4. Call Your Dad, Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beau is the BLF (best lesbian friend) we all need. Fjord calls Vandran. Sabien is a prick.

Fjord sits on his bed.

He’s drained.

He’s been crying for hours.

He hears something, slightly muffled.

He wipes his eyes and puts his hearing aids in. 

A knock.

_Shit. It’s four in the morning. Did I wake her up? Fuck. _

“Fjord?”

“Yes?” he answers, his voice shaking. 

“Can I come in?”

“Yeah.”

Beau opens the door.

“Hey dude.”

“Hey.” 

She leans against the doorway.

“You wanna go for a walk?”

“I’d like that.”

Dressed in warmer clothes, they walk down their block.

Xhorhas is usually bustling and crowded, but not this early in the morning.

It’s nice.

They finally sit at a coffee shop.

Not Yasha’s.

Some hole-in-the-wall kind of place.

“Did you tell Jester what happened?” 

“Jester’s different, Beau… you know that.” 

“Fjord, you don’t have to tell me. I’m just making sure you talked to someone.” 

Fjord sighs.

He takes a sip of coffee.

“Vandran’s um… he’s going away again. He’ll be gone for a while.” 

Beau looks at him.

“Okay.”

“I wouldn’t mind, you know, he’s left a million times before I guess I just…” 

He sniffs.

“Sabien… um… he dumped me last week.” 

“Oh, Fjord…” 

“He said I was pathetic and useless. Said I deserved everything that happened to me. He got new orders. He’s leaving in a month.”

“Fucking prick.” 

“He said he never wanted to see me again.”

Fjord cards a hand through his hair.

Beau looks at him.

“Maybe you should talk to Molly…”

“Maybe.” 

“Fjord, buddy. I love you, okay? I care about you a lot. But you always do this. I know you’re hurting. I’m just not great at this stuff. Please talk to someone.” 

Fjord’s jaw clenches.

He looks at his hands. 

“Beau… have you ever… God, _fuck_…”

“Yeah?”

“Have you ever felt like you don’t deserve love?”

“Of course. We all feel that way. You know you deserve to be happy, right? You deserve good things.” 

He nods.

He doesn’t think so. 

“I’m gonna call Vandran when we get home.” 

Fjord splashes water on his face, looking at himself in the mirror.

Pathetic. 

Useless. 

_Fuck you, Sabien. _

He paces in his room, standing in front of his laptop.

The video call pops up.

He clicks on it.

“Hey, kiddo!”

“Hey, Dad.”

“What happened?”

“Nothing.”

“Kid.”

“Sabien’s leaving.”

“Oh, c’mon kiddo. We been through this a million times. Can’t be much different then seein’ your old man leave.”

“He dumped me.”

“What the fuck’d he do that for?”

“He said I was pathetic.”

“I’ll fucking kill him.”

“No-“ 

“Fjord. Siddown.”

Fjord sits at the chair in front of his desk.

“Now, you make sure them hearing aids are turned up nice and good, got it?”

“Yes, sir.” 

“You’re my boy. You ain’t my blood, but you’re mine. I’ll be damned if anyone hurts you and gets away with it.”

“I know, Dad, thank you. But I just… look. He’s leaving. He’ll be gone in a week.”

“So will I. Then who do you have?”

“I have friends, Dad.”

“You do?”

Fjord laughs a little and Vandran smiles.

“Lean on ‘em. Beau especially, she’s a tough nut. And Mrs. Brenatto! I wanna get good reports from her.”

“You talk to Nott?”

“Of course I do. We’re friends on the Facebook. She sends me the Minions.”

“Alright, Dad.”

“I love you. Get some rest, you look awful.”

“Love you too, Dad.”

“Alright. Talk to you later kiddo.”

“Bye.”

Fjord looks at his desktop.

“Beau!”

“Yeah?”

“Should I ask Caduceus out?”


	5. Let’s Talk about That

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fjord and Caduceus have some coffee. Beau and Yasha have a date.

“Should you what?!”

“Ask Caduceus out. The nurse, Jester’s friend.”

“Why?”

“Just… to have a date. I haven’t had a real date in a while.” 

“I mean, if you want to.”

“Alright.”

“Not right now, he’s probably barely awake.”

Caduceus walks into Yasha’s coffee shop.

He sees Fjord at a table, typing away at his laptop.

He orders a jasmine tea and sits at the table next to the black-haired man.

“Hey, Caduceus!” 

“Oh, hello, Fjord.”

“Hey, oh, well… shit.”

“Is something wrong?” 

“I was uh… I was gonna ask if you wanted to get coffee sometime. Looks like you’re already doing that.”

“It’s tea, actually, but. I’ll join you at your table, if you’d like.” 

“That’d be great, Cad. You uh, you mind if I call you that?”

“Not at all.” 

Beau lets the door swing open and close as she walks in, the bell jingling loudly.

Yasha smiles.

“Hello, Beau.”

“You. Me. A box of vegan mac and cheese. But I’m a Cheerleader.” 

“Are you speaking in tongues?”

“No, Yasha. A date! Let’s go on a date. Come over to my house.”

“Oh! Now?”

“Jesus- no, later!”

“When?”

“Eight.”

“What about Fjord?”

“He’ll be here until the cows come home, Yasha. If he gets high on caffeine, it’s nothing Molly hasn’t seen before.” 

“Alright then, it’s a date.”

Yasha’s shift has ended and Mollymauk has replaced her, but Caduceus and Fjord continue to talk. 

“That last hospital sounds like a nightmare.”

“It’s funny, Jester told me she went to med school in Nicodranus too, but I guess we just never bumped into each other.” 

“The blue hair helps her stick out. Same with you and that pink.” 

“Oh. You like it?” 

“Yeah, it’s cute.”

“I like the white in your hair.”

“Ah, well, that’s natural. Some pigment thing, I dunno. Kids made fun of me when I was little. That and I had fucked up teeth.”

“Where did you grow up?”

“Texas, but I’m adopted.”

“Oh, really? That explains the accent.” 

“Yeah. My dad’s a vet. He does crab catching now. He’s leaving on a trip pretty soon. What about you?”

“Big family.”

“Where were you in the pecking order?”

“I’m the youngest.”

“Aw, baby Cad?”

“Yeah.”

“My dad was a single dad, but good. That man was Texan to the core.”

Yasha and Beau sit on the couch, Beau’s arm around Yasha.

“This movie is so strange.”

“Yeah, it’s more of an American thing.”

“That man is funny.”

“That’s RuPaul.” 

“Who?”

“RuPaul! Like RuPaul’s drag race? Molly’s a drag queen, doesn’t he tell you these things?”

Yasha shakes her head.

“God, I love how disconnected from pop culture you are. It’s so fucking sexy.”

“Beau, would you like to kiss me?”

“Yes, God, I thought you’d never ask.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> maybe texastough is born with it.... or maybe... just maybe.... it’s mental illness innit! sorry i was sad and looking at skulls college hard me stupid


End file.
